Newcastle's Sandro Tonali Fitness Update Ahead of Fulham Clash

Eddie Howe is ready to roll the dice on Sandro Tonali’s fitness as Newcastle aim to close their Premier League campaign with a flourish at Fulham on Sunday.

The Italian midfielder limped off with a hamstring problem in the win over West Ham last week, casting doubt over his involvement on the final day. Howe, though, offered a cautiously upbeat bulletin.

“Sandro, potentially, will be available,” he said. “We will look at him again today. We don’t think it is anything serious.”

Newcastle’s late-season surge has changed the mood around the club. Their last defeat came against champions Arsenal in April; since then, performances have sharpened, the ball has moved quicker, and belief has crept back into the stands and the dressing room.

At the heart of that revival has been the emergence of Osula, whose two goals in the 3-1 victory over relegation-threatened West Ham underlined why Howe talks about him with such intent.

“He is at a really good age,” Howe said. “Lots of things to continue to work on, there are lots of untapped areas we can develop.

“The ceiling in his development is really high. He has the raw ingredients, the physical profile too.”

Those “raw ingredients” were on full display in Newcastle’s last home game of the season, a win that felt like more than three points. It sounded like a reset. It looked like a team rediscovering its edge.

“It was great to win our last home game. That left us all with a great feeling. We want to end the season on a real high,” Howe added.

Fulham away is the final hurdle, and Howe knows momentum does not survive the summer by accident. It has to be carried there.

“We hope to continue the upturn in our recent performances, upturn in our in-possession play, we want to end the season high, it is an important match for us.”

One more performance, one more statement, and Newcastle can walk into the off-season convinced that this late revival is a platform, not a consolation.